Peach pitting head



Jan. 8, 1952 w. DE BACK ETAL 2,581,735

PEACH FITTING HEAD Filed Sept. 24, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l gwue/wtow WILLIAM DE BACK FREDERICK H. LUHDORFF Jan. 8, 1952 w 5 K r 2,581,785

PEACH FITTING. HEAD Filed Sept. 24, 1946 Q 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ilium! @HQ? 6 WILLIAM DE BACK FREDERICK n LUHDORFF Him; in. flnmnng! 3% 2 0 6-0 Jan. 8, 1952 w, E A K r 2,581,785

PEACH FITTING HEAD Filed Sept. 24, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F l G IO gin 001M -W|L|Q|AM DE BACK 1 FREDERICK H. LUHDORFF Patented Jan. 8, 1952 sTATEs PATENT OFFICE Jose, Calif., assignors to Pacific Machinery Company, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Application-September 24, 1946, Serial No. 698,998

6 Claims. (Cl. 14628) Our' invention relates to peach pitting heads, more particularly topeach pitting heads for use in continuous; operating type of peach pitting machine as distinguished from the intermittently operated type.

An objectof this invention is to provide a peach pitting head which is intendedfor; use in the continuous peach pitter disclosed in Patent 2,376,526 issued May. 22, 1945 to Albert R. Thompson, the construction and arrangement beingsuch that our peach pittin hea-d may be substituted for the head forming a part of said previous structure without substantially altering the otherv part of the apparatus.

A further object is to provide a peach .pitting head which utilizes many. of the features found advantageous in the above identified patent such as the oscillating pitting knife and the pit finder arranged to limit depth of cut of the pitting knife; but which incorporates additional features wherein the cutting action is not only more precise, but also more adaptable to the widevariety of sizeand shape of peach and peach Pi which a machine of this type is required, to handle.

Another object is to provide a peach pitting head which is particularly designed for the pitting of clingstone peaches and 'whichincorporates novel means for controlling the course of the pitting knife around the peach pit so that, although the size and location of the peach pit may vary, the knife follows closely the contour of the peach pit. t

l Another objectis to provide a dual peach pitting head which pits simultaneously both halves of a peach which has been previously sliced and its pit divided, the pitting operation of each half of peach. however, being independent. 50 that even though the peachshould "be improperly divided in a manner to dispose a major part of a peach pit on one side, the pitting knives make a shallow or deep cut in accordance with thedepth occupied by the portion of the pit contained in the peach half. M

With the above and other objects in view as may appear hereinafter, reference is directed to thefaccompanying drawings in, which:

Fig; 1 is a side elevational view of our peach pitting head shown in position in a peach pitting machine; the peach piting machine being shown in section taken substantially along the line 'I-I of Fig. 2. I Figl'2 is a top or plan view of our peach pitting head'with a portion of the bridge which supports one of the pitting knife control cams being broken away to facilitate the illustration.

' Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the peach pitting head taken through 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the peach pitting head viewed from the same direction as Fig. 1, but with the fruit contact plate removed andwith the pit guard shown in section.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom view of the pitting knife control cams and their supporting bridge.

Fig. 6 is anenlarged end view of one of the peach pitting knives.

Figs. 7 to 12, inclusive, are a. series of diagrammatical views illustrating the manner in which the pit finder, pitting knife, and pitting knife control cam cooperate in the process of pitting a peach. I

As stated hereinbefore, our peach pitting head is particularly designed for incorporation in the peach pitting machine shown in the Thompson Patent 2,376,526 and, therefore, utilizes the means shown in said patent employed to feed the peaches into and through suitable slicing and sawing devices. The peaches are fed progressively past our peach pitting head in much the same manner as in the above mentioned patent.

Our peach pitting head is mounted on a cradle I which is secured to a shaft 2 forming a part of the peach pitting machine. The cradle I includes an upwardly directed arm 3, the upper forward extremity of which is provided with a horizontally disposed cam follower roller 4. The roller 4 coacts with a camway 5 provided in a cam 6 mounted on a shaft I. As disclosed more fully in the above mentioned patent, the cam 6 is employed to oscillate the cradle I so that the peach pitting mechanism, to be described hereinafter, may be caused to move in unison with the halved peaches as they travel rearwardly from the peach halving mechanism.

Rearwardly of the roller 4 the arm 3 is divided longitudinally to form a pair of spaced bosses 8 between which extends an ear 9 of a pitting head frame ID. A bolt I I secures the ear 9 between the bosses.

The pitting head frame III is provided with a pair of depending bosses I2 from which extend forwardly directed pin I3 adapted to fit in bushings I4 forming a part of the cradle I. It will thus be seen that the pitting head frame is readily removably connected by three point sup port to the cradle I. I

As will be brought out hereinafter, the pitting head structure may be readily and quickly interchanged in the event of damage to the pitting knives or other parts of the head. This interchangeable arrangement is not, however, a part of the present invention, but maybe made the subject of another patent application.

Extending rearwardly and upwardly from the.

pitting head frame It] is a track arm which terminates infar arciiate trafclfifi having its center of curvature coinciding with the cehter of the shaft 2. The track I6 is engaged in opposite sides by rollers I! supported by a frame F9 i which in turn is rigidly attached to the, side plates I9 of the peach pitting machine.

The forward end of the pitting head em-e N? its provided with a laterally ireqtegtcross ber 20. Spaced rearwardl'y' therfro'nn the pitting head frame is provided with a pair of lateral- 1y disposed journals 2| havingvertical bores;

Supported between the cross member 2llandthe journals 21 on opposite sides of the pitting head frame I are fruit contact plates 22 over which thes'evered' halves' of the peaches" progress rear wardly. During the pitti'iig operation; however, the pitting head and peach halves move in unisoh; that is; without relative movement.

The vertical bores of the? journals 2! receive shafts 23 Eachshaft journals or oscillatably supports a pitting knife lever 24 which is essentially H-shaped; that is; each end is bifurcated to form upper and lower arms connected a web. Each lever 24* eitfids forwardly between the pitting head frame 10 and the correspon ng fruit contact plate 22-. The bifurcated orward extremity of the lever 24' journals apitting knife shaft 25; the aids of which is Vertical. 'A U- ting knife levercarries with'it av pit finder lever sii'tit z' s hm-its a vertical ss; that is; aiiaxis t tans to the shaft The start 28 sta s i t v .s c ii am fifi r ii h i ii anarm30 which curve' forwardly and late aily outward in such a" manner as to sass afoiifid afid v project beyond the pitting 'k iiife s'haft25 so that it may be thrust outwardly through the ap'i tilie 21. The extremity of the is pointed; as indicat'ed byjl. V Y

The pit finder lever also" men-ides 32 Which is ofi's'et upwardly nearer the jofii'nal 2| and extends rearwardly between the journal end of the pitting kn'if lever 24 and the" pitting head frame I 0. The extreinity of the arm 32 confronts a lug 33 extending from the lever 24. Between the arm 32 and lug 33 there is interposed a spring 34 tending to force them apart; .An' adjustment bolt 35 draws the lug 33 and arm 32 toward each other. This relative movement varies the spacing between the pitting knife and pit finder point 3|. l v The rearward edge of the aperture 21 is cut away or slotted to receive a ramp plate 36 which, is rigidly connected to the pitting knife lever 24 in such amanner that when the lever contact plate; but when the lever is moved outwardly, the ramp 36 moves. approximately flush with the normal surface of the fruit con tact plate.

Substantially centered within the opening defined by the aperture 21 and the confronting edge of the ramp 36 is a pit supporting plate or guard 31. The plate 3! is provided with a small o ening 38 through which moves the pointed end at 02 the ie finder lever 30 its pit supporting plate 31 is carriedby arms 39 which are slottered to clear the shaft 25 and which continue inwardly for rigid connection to the head frame l0.

Each pitting Efiif shaft 25 protrudes upwhen trim the pitting head frame l0 and is treatises with a gear 4fl which meshes with an idler gai" 4f carried by the pitting knife lever 24%; Each idler gear 4| meshes with a drive gear 42. The two drive gears 42 mesh with each dthr' so that the two pitting knives 26 are operated simultaneously. One of the drive gears 42 is provided with drive Iev'r' 43 which is cenfieteh by a suitable lineage a pivot post- 45 mounted on the frame l8; The several g'aisaie so arranged that the" pitting headmoves rearwardly in unison with the peach fedifi i'riehaiiisih' and peach halves overlie the pistes n, the sitt ng mites satires to rdtat a to make caste cuts a case tii ting'kfiife and it's sha'ft; he 6 A its sir-art, iiiiist be iateiany fiiovable'ifi stag to aecbfi'iiiicuat tiiewide range size and shape at peach pits biit that this movement tastiest 1.: a .r m ".4 jflvotallimoiintedbetween the side pistes it of the peach pitting iiiatiiine is; ster Eli-ides 4 The cam e??? 5 l, .6- v i s bsta tiau uaiiai o planvv'ith pivots '41 at ts txt eifities when toset with 1 t' 19 so that tastings th s he d fiaiiief Iii when it is desired to service test; file caiii triage is i retained .1 h i? t. t titii er tiistaiii triageasis'a paiibf iit iiigiiiii a control cams L51}. Each control 'iia'ifi is iii the iisrfigi; "6 substantiauytriangular p ate "estuiatsbit subset-tea at ts mitigate t eir by a that 5|. In additiofi t6 the pivot 51 s twii ciihtiol stare held agaiii'stj iie un erside iii theeam ai'rirpistes sraiia sa. p

i I parties-er eaciretiitt i $6 is isroiiiaed with its 51' thi'bugli which extends a. horizontal, laterally directed adjustment red ts, the "i'aleiitieifiitistfwhiefi its m sstaply mo" 11 iii boss 56 iitendi'ng its-avast ffoirijth oiite firth-seamstress it. in H lug s3 'fi'ahkedby springs 51 and 5t. man gea- 'siiii tast er s v assign-s shaft 25." The upper extremity of each pitting knife shaft 25 is provided with' -a cami-roller- 60.

which rides in thecorrespondin'g cam slots 59.

Each cam slot=59 includes a laterally outwardly sloping initial'portion' 6| which curves into a rearwardly directed portion 62 and thisportion in turn curves into'a laterally inwardly directed portion 63. v i 1 The operation of a peach pitting head will now be described and for this purpose reference is directed particularly to the substantially diagrammatical fragmentary views, Figs. '7 to 12, inclusive. Each of these viewsis a composite view showing the control cam as it would appear looking downwardly thereon and showing from the same aspect the essential portions of the pitting head, particularly the pitting knife and pitfinder.

With reference first to' Fig. '7 the parts are shown'in their'initial position, that is, the cam roller 60 is inthe forward extremity of the cam slot 59, the pittingknife and pit finder are retracted. Asthe pitting head moves forwardly to the position of Figure '8, the pitting knife and pit finder assembly rotate in unison about the shaft 23 by reason of movement of the carn'roller 60 in the initial portion 6] of the cam slot. It will be observed that the pit finder engages the pit before the knife begins to penetrate the peach half. Continuing with Fig. 9, the finder has engaged the pit and the knife has started its cutting operation. Fig. .10.is a continuation of the condition existing-in Fig. 9. As the pitting knife completes its cut, the cam follower orroller 60 enters the laterally inwardly directed portion 63 of the cam slotcausing the entire pitting knife and pit finder assembly to pivot counterclockwise about the shaft 23 until both devices are clear ofthepeach. I .1

Before the next peach is moved in position, the pitting headreturns to its initial position and the various parts move backwardly through the position shown.

Under the I conditions shown and described above, it has been assumed that none of the springs 34, 51, or 58 have functioned. Should the cavity in the peach pit be shallower than normal, the peach finder will not penetrate laterally as far as shown, but will be resisted by the peach pit. This causes the pitting knife to make a circular cut of lesser depth than that illustrated. Contrariwise, the knife tends to follow its normal course by reason of the control cam 50. However, this cam is capable of slight displacement by reason of its mounting between the springs 51 and 58. Therefore, under the conditions just described, spring 51 compresses slightly and spring 58 expands slightly to allow the cam slot to move to the left, as viewed in Figs. 7 to 12, allowing the knife to make the shallower cut.

It should be noted that the outer surface of the peach pit is rough and that, therefore, the cutting edge of the pitting knife must be beveled away from the peach pit rather than toward the peach pit. Such beveling of the knife has the effect under the extremely rapid conditions of operation to exert a force on the knife tending to swing it laterally outwardly'so. 'aslto make .a deeper cut in the peach than desired; This movement, however, is resisted by the spring 34'and springv 58. Byreason'of the fact that spring'58 particularly may be readily adjusted this tend-' ency'for the knife to deflect from its course may be fully counteracted.

Should the pit be extra thick or have protuberances which might be engaged by the knife, it will be-seen that the manner in which the knife is'beveled will permit the knife to rideover and 54. 9

r The normal distance between the pointed end 3| of the pit finder and the guard 31 for the maximum extended position of the pitting knife is adjusted by the'a'djustment bolt 35. r

While we have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patti l 1. An apparatus for pitting fruit which has been previously halved, comprising: a fruit contact plate for supporting the pit side of' afruit half and including a pit support surrounded by an annular aperture, said-fruit contact platealso defining a window at one side of said pit support communicating with said'aperture; a pitting knife lever pivotally mountedfbehind said plate and including a ramp plate fitting said window and movable between arecess and fiush relation with said fruit contactplate; and an oscillatable pitting knife'carried' by said lever and movable between'a retracted position and an extended position wherein said pitting knife is adapted to be moved through a path ciroumscribing the pit of a fruit half overlying said aperture. 7 i

' 2. An apparatus for pitting fruit which has been'previously halved,comprising: a fruit contact plate for supporting the pit side of a fruit half and including a pit support surrounded by an annular aperture, said fruit contact plate also defining a w'indow'at one side of said pit support'communicating with-said aperture; 'a pitting knife lever pivotally mounted behind said plate and including a ramp plate fitting said window and movable between a recess and flush relation with said fruit contact plate; an oscillatable pitting knife carried by said lever and movable between a retracted position and an extended position wherein said pitting knife is adapted to be moved through a path circumscribing the pit of a fruit half overlying said aperture; means yieldably carried by said lever and engageable with said fruit pit to limit outward movement of said lever thereby to limit the depth of cut of said pitting knife; means for controlling the movement of said lever to shift said pitting knife between its retracted and extended positions; and a yieldable mounting for said control means responsive to forces exerted on said pitting knife to vary the extended position thereof.

3. A fruit pitting head movable relative to a supporting frame, comprising: 'a fruit contact plate defining an aperture adapted to be covered by a fruit half with its pit exposed thereto; a pivotally supported lever behind said plate; a pitting knife oscillatably carried by said lever and movable thereby between retracted and exsuch protuberances in opposition to the springs tended positions; a cam. followeralso carriedby said lever spaced-20m the pivot thereof; a cam canied byj said flame and disposed for coaetion with. said: can follower to shift said pitting knife between. L its retractedand extended; positions uponmovement of said'head; and. a yieldable mounting meanstending to hold said in a 4. A fruit'pitting head movable relative at V supportmg. framepcomiprismm V a fruitcontact plate defining an aperture adapted to be covered by a: filf'kfiztlihQzlfflWith itslpit exposed thereto; a pivotally' supported lever behind said plate; a pitting knife-:osciliatabiycarried: by said: lever amdmovable thereby between retracted and. extendedpo sitions; a cam follower also carried by said lever spaced from the pivot thereof; a cam carried bysaid trams and disposed for coaction with said camfollower to shift said pitting knife between its retracted and extended positions upon movement of said head; a yieldable mount.- ing means tending to hold said cam in a preselected position but permitting. displacement: to either. side 015 said positionin responseto forces 7 acting on said pitting knife lever; said pitting V vcuta pathcireum-scribing said fruit pit; anda pit finder carried by and yieldabl'y connected with said pitting knife lever and engageable with said fruit pitto limit movement of said pitting knife toward its. extended position; said yield-- a-ble mounting means and the, yield-able con-nection between said pit finder andlever, coacting to determine a resultant circumscribing eourse for said. pittingkni-fe in close proximity to said fruitit. v

5-. In-afruit pitting. head for fruit pitting machines wherein the halved fruit isprogressed past thepitting head, the combination of: a pitting knife adapted to rotate 'in arcuate path approximating the. surface of the. pit of a fruithalf overlying said knife; a pit finderadapted to engage said pitand yieldabl'y connected with said pitting, knife to exert a ,force tending to limit the depth of out made thereby; carrier'means in'cludingaioinnal ion pivoting; safdpittinglknifi and pit finder as a between a retracted. and an extended position; a;cam fb1lower carriedby said. carrier means spaced from said journaimam means mounted on means movable relative to said head, said cam fioilower engaging said. cam-and shaped to move saidpitting knife and pit finder about said journal-"between. a, retracted and an. extended position; response to said role-tine movement; and yieldable mounting" means for mounting: said eam-means-on said movablemeans permitting, dispiacementthei'eof when saidpit finder is restrained'hpenaa ement with we; fruit pit,- and said cam: follower is; thereby restrained, and separate; means, for simultaneously moving said-kni-iealong saidarcuatepath. 't

6. In an apparatus for pitting halved fruithaw i-ng means for continuously moving fruit halves relative'to said; frame along a predetermined pathy a. fro-men pitting. head eyclically movable along saidpath in unison with successive fruit halves,v said head including, means having a surface: for engaging the cut face of. a; truithalflia pitting knife mounted onythe head for oscillation through said surface abon-tanaxisgeneral-l-y par-'- aliel'to: said surface a shait'defi-ning said actuating linkage-connecting said ;frame and. shaftior moving said shaft toward and from surface in response to predetermined movements 01? said. pitting headalong said path, and a sepa rate drive means for oscil-lating said knife aboi t said axis in response tofurther movements of said head said actuating linkage including resilientlv ryieldable elements whereby said; shait is yieldably, urged to and held predetermined loeationsrelativeto said surface. I 1

na BACK FREDERICK LUHDO REFERENCES oman file; oi this patent:

UNITED 'STETES PATENTS mo s? t Hom D e 1 2,066,567 Jepson 5,, 19352 2,376,52d Thompson m s i May 22,, L945 

